Published by Sichuan Provincial Department of Commerce

Time: 2025.10.29 10:13

3.6%!

Recently, the foreign trade data for Sichuan in the first three quarters was released: the province's goods trade totaled 776.79 billion yuan, ranking eighth nationwide, achieving a year-on-year increase of 3.6%. Notably, this marks the sixth consecutive quarter of positive export growth for Sichuan since the second quarter of last year. Additionally, it is reported that in September alone, the province's imports and exports reached 93.79 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 13.4%, which is 5.4 percentage points higher than the national growth rate.

Amid increasing external uncertainties, where will the growth in Sichuan's foreign trade come from?

During the Canton Fair at the Sichuan Tianlian Robotics booth, staff explained the performance of humanoid robot products to overseas clients.

1.Based on market feedback, identify and create opportunities to allow enterprises to operate with greater agility and reduced burdens.

On October 15, the 138th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) opened, with over 32,000 enterprises participating, setting a record high.

The Canton Fair is regarded as the prediction of China's foreign trade, and it is also an important approach for foreign trade professionals to find new clients and new opportunities. To explore potential orders, Sichuan came well-prepared for this session of the Canton Fair: in terms of quantity, 511 enterprises participated, occupying 1,017 booths, setting a record for the highest number of participating companies. In terms of quality, among the participating enterprises, 129 hold titles such as National High-Tech Enterprise, Specialized and Innovative Little Giant, and Single Champion in Manufacturing, an increase of 27 compared to the previous session, moreover, the number of enterprises in the robotics exhibition area ranked first in the central and western regions.

With the accelerated new quality-driven productivity and key industries upgrade for high quality, the structure of Sichuan's export products is continuously being optimized and innovated. This was evident at the Canton Fair, where companies frequently experienced order surges and their products were popular in international markets: Mianyang Wuba Robot Technology Co., Ltd. received approximately 150 new clients from Russia, England, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, Malaysia and other countries within four days, Sichuan Tianlian Robot Co., Ltd. signed agreements with 12 overseas agents on-site, with foreign clients accounting for 90% of visitors, most of whom were new customers, Sichuan Chengxing Jinggong Import & Export Trading Co., Ltd. showcased three newly developed agricultural machines including fresh rice mills, receiving nearly a hundred buyers from nine countries in three days, and even secured orders from French clients on the spot.

Good news of frequent contract signings keeps coming in, relying not only on the company's active market expansion but also on significant support from government departments.

A relevant official from the Provincial Department of Commerce: The Canton Fair is one of the key supported exhibitions in the Sichuan Goes Global the international market expansion initiative. Departments such as Commerce and Finance provide a high proportion of subsidies to participating enterprises, enabling them to travel light to the greatest extent.

In helping enterprises expand into international markets, the role of Sichuan Goes Global goes beyond that. At present, a Sichuan Pharmaceutical Delegation for Going Global, composed of 73 outstanding local pharmaceutical and related companies from Sichuan, has been fully assembled. On October 25, this delegation will jointly travel to Germany to participate in the CPHI Worldwide Europe.

The head of the delegation's organizing team introduced that this is a core exhibition in the European pharmaceutical, with a wide reach and significant influence. It is an industry event that professionals engaged in pharmaceutical research, development, production and trade cannot afford to miss. He noted that Sichuan pharmaceutical raw material companies actively participating in a series of international professional exhibitions will help transform their production and technological advantages into market advantages and convert product strength into brand strength.

Based on industry characteristics, enterprises have been widely organized to participate in domestic and foreign exhibitions that are more targeted and closely aligned with market demands. Since this year, many events such Sichuan Goes Global have been held. Data show that in the first nine months of this year, 77 key global exhibitions and trade activities supported at the province have taken place, covering more than 30 countries and regions, which have resulted in intended orders totaling over 24 billion yuan, helping Sichuan achieve year-on-year export growth to ASEAN, the EU, and Russia of 17.5%, 6.1%, and 18.4%, respectively.

A relevant official from the Provincial Department of Commerce stated that according to the plan, by the end of the year, there will be 110 domestic and foreign exhibitions and trade activities that are key priorities at the province. In order to further enhance the alignment of products with target markets, multiple departments, including commerce, economic and information technology, agriculture and trade promotion, will further integrate resources to help enterprises precisely and effectively expand into international markets. In addition, since this year, the Sichuan Provincial Department of Commerce and the Sichuan Provincial Finance Department have jointly launched the policy-based financial product Tianfu Foreign Trade Loan, providing financing support to small and micro foreign trade enterprises.

According to statistics from Chengdu Customs, in the first three quarters of this year, Sichuan's exports reached 461.01 billion yuan, up 5.8% year-on-year. The number of enterprises in the province with actual import and export activities increased by 9.5% year-on-year. Notably, in certain emerging sectors, exports by private enterprises achieved rapid growth, boosting companies' confidence in securing orders.

Recently, employees of Sichuan Yitian Technology Co., Ltd., located in the Huaying Mountain Economic Development Zone of Huaying, have been operating machines in an intelligent workshop to manufacture products for export orders. (Photo by Qiu Haiying)

2. Explore innovations to trial new models

Leverage precise order needs to drive production optimization.

While domestic e-commerce platforms are busy with the Double 11 shopping festival, Chengdu Yishang Footwear Co., Ltd., which is also engaged in e-commerce, is stepping up production in preparation for another important promotional event —Black Friday. Ye Wei, the company's operations manager stated that based on the orders already placed, nearly 20,000 pairs of women's shoes have been shipped in advance to overseas warehouses for future dispatch and we expect orders to continue increasing.

The export volume of Chengdu-made women's shoes accounts for one-third of the total national exports of women's shoes. However, in recent years, this traditional industry has faced challenges due to declining sales. Industry insiders have analyzed that, on one hand, the handcrafted nature of some women's shoes means production cannot keep pace with the rise of e-commerce, 'but the main reason is that there is a mismatch between supply and demand, resulting in bottlenecks between production and trade.'

Fortunately, since this year, Chengdu has accelerated new breakthroughs in this industry: by adopting the new model of cross-border e-commerce industrial belt, it guides the production side to optimize and upgrade based on precise order demands, effectively promoting continuous expansion of exports.

Focusing on enhancing the driving role of trade in the industry, continuously improving enterprises' capabilities in forecasting, customization, and delivery, thereby actively promoting the formation of new foreign trade growth, like Chengdu women’s shoes, is precisely an important exploration and innovation in Sichuan's foreign trade.

Since this year, Sichuan has been vigorously promoting a new model of trade-industry integration. Efforts have been continuously made in various areas, including targeting specific countries, deeply exploring tradeable products, accelerating the integrated development of cross-border e-commerce industrial belts, and carrying out innovative, integrated efforts across the entire industry chain. These measures aim to steadily enhance the international orientation of Sichuan's key industries and realize the potential of foreign trade.

The relevant official from Chengdu Customs stated that by transforming industrial advantages into foreign trade advantages, new export growth has emerged in Sichuan's electronic information, equipment manufacturing, and pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors in the first nine months of this year. A large number of high-tech products, green products and advantageous products have been well received in the international market, continuously stimulating the potential for foreign trade growth.

On June 12, this year's first durian-special train from Sichuan arrived at Chengdu International Railway Port. Photo by Wei Wei, Sichuan Daily All-Media Reporter

3. Leveraging import support, premium curated products have made pivotal strides

Boosting new growth momentum in foreign trade

Since this year, Sichuan has been continuously strengthening its efforts to develop distribution centers for imported products such as salmon and durian. While focusing on expanding exports, it is also making imports an important driving force for foreign trade growth.

At the beginning of September, the 2025 Sichuan Province Promotion Event for Building an Imported Salmon Distribution Center, themed 'Creating a Western Fresh Produce Hub through the Entire Industry Chain and Establishing a National Salmon Distribution Center,' was held in Chengdu. Representatives from over a hundred domestic and foreign companies and industry associations involved in salmon farming, importing, processing, distribution and air cargo participated in the event, engaging in business negotiations, exchanges and inspections. On-site, orders exceeding 1 billion yuan were signed, and the country's first Norwegian antibiotic-free (no antibiotic residue) salmon processing certification was issued.

Salmon is just one area where breakthroughs have occurred first. Since this year, the import volumes of several items such as durians and fresh shrimp have increased significantly, further enhancing the function of distribution centers and effectively promoting counter-trend growth and steady progress in imports. According to customs data, in the first three quarters of this year, Sichuan's imports further increased based on the high base of the same period last year, achieving a year-on-year growth of 0.6%, which is 0.8 percentage points higher than the national average.

"This is far more than just stimulating the consumer market." Industry insiders analyze that establishing Sichuan as a national distribution hub for single imported products can help premium products achieve breakthroughs, promote the formation of new growth points in foreign trade and continuously extend the industrial chain, thereby realizing high-quality development in foreign trade.

More exploration is jointly forming an important supporting force. In Shuangliu, Chengdu, the China (Sichuan·Shuangliu) Used Car Export Base officially commenced operations last year. The project brings together approximately 1,800 used car market entities. By establishing the Sichuan Vehicle Trade Public Service Platform, the Sichuan Used Car Export Base Public Service Platform, and forming a used car export industry alliance, the project continuously innovates the used car export model and accelerates the enhancement of global influence. Since commencing operations, 95 export trading enterprises have settled in, and the export volume has exceeded 2 billion RMB. From January to July this year, Shuangliu, taking this base as the core platform, achieved a used car export volume of 1.2 billion RMB, marking a significant increase.

In Guangyuan, the China’s first pilot program to optimize the inspection and supervision model for imported recycled aluminum materials was recently launched. From now on, companies importing qualified recycled aluminum materials can have their goods transported directly to local customs supervision facilities in Guangyuan for inspection, instead of undergoing the traditional port inspection. This not only increases the efficiency of customs clearance by more than 50%, but also significantly reduces overall enterprise costs such as container usage fees and customs agency fees, saving 300 to 500 yuan per ton. The implementation of this pilot program is conducive to forming a consolidated supply model in Guangyuan and surrounding areas, stabilizing raw material supply, and supporting Guangyuan in expanding foreign trade imports and strengthening its position as a major recycled aluminum trade center in the western region.

Innovating foreign trade models and business formats, breaking through the bottlenecks of traditional industries and creating more growth space for foreign trade increments. In the first nine months of this year, Sichuan's foreign trade has progressed steadily, with its scale reaching a historical high, laying a foundation for maintaining a foreign trade scale of one trillion yuan for the entire year.

The bustling scene at Chengdu International Railway Port